Android to seize 45% of smartphone market

Analysts believe Google’s Android OS will find its way to about 45 percent of all smartphones within the next five years.

Android has seen strong growth since its introduction in late 2008 and the trend is expected to continue. In addition, the global smartphone market is destined to grow at a rate of 19 percent a year, as more and more users shift to feature pack handsets rather than plain phones.

ABI Research believes Android, Bada and Blackberry stand to gain a great deal from the demise of Nokia’s Symbian OS over the next two years. However, Apple’s iOS is also expected to gain some share and end up at 19 percent in 2016. Apple probably won’t gain as much from Symbian’s disappearance, as it’s focused on the high-end market. Samsung’s Bada on the other hand aims at the low-end and mid-range, a market space previously dominated by Symbian.

As for Windows Phone 7, the outlook seems rather bleak. Even with Nokia on board, Redmond’s latest mobile OS is expected to capture just 7 percent of the market by 2016.